On Your Own Two Feet
by Tears of Dragons
Summary: Second Year AU: Even if I'm not complete, even if I no longer have the power to even walk, I can still become a hero. So don't you dare tell me sorry. Because you guys are heroes too. And heroes should be proud. Heavily injured Bakugou after an incident, and his recovery phase. *Language/Angst warning. Minor Kacchako. Trigger warnings.
1. My Nightmare Starts Now

There is a blast before Ochako is able to see again. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees the rest of the class, stock-still from fear. She is no exception; trembling legs and wide eyes keep her planted where she is. She pushes to move, but can't, and tries to scream.

"Deku-kun!" Her lip is quivering, fearing that it'll be the worst.

Her voice is joined by others around her, and she almost feels comforted by the notion. That feeling soon stops the moment that she sees green hair splayed on the floor. The villain is down as well, long since unconscious by the blast earlier, but the fact barely crosses Ochako's mind, her thoughts only screaming, _Deku, Deku, Deku._ Her feet are disconnected to the ground, and she thinks she's activated her Quirk, running full speed to the mop of green. She isn't alone, the sound of engines and "Midoriya!" close behind. No one cares about the villain, instead bustling around the unconscious classmate on next to them.

Ochako's heart almost stops as she watches Todoroki hastily checking the boy for a pulse. She doesn't even hear Iida's shouts to tie the villain up, nor does she feel Asui rubbing her back slowly.

"He's still breathing! Just knocked out from the impact. Yaoyorozu, could you make a stretcher?"

Ochako almost faints in relief at the words, letting out the breath she had forgotten she was holding. The others around her sigh as well, and let out small smiles. Mineta is crying in thankfulness, and Tokoyami wipes the sweat from his brows.

It is a minute of " _thank God_ " until a shaky voice in the distance calls a name momentarily forgotten, a name that will soon cast a shadow over Class 2-A in the near future.

"Bakugou…?" The voice is Kirishima's.

Heads turn to the sound of the boy's words. And faces, before still smiling, drop to utmost horror. Still silence follows shortly, and for seconds no one moves, processing what their eyes inform them. When it does, there is screaming, and students all around Ochako; those who caught themselves in time, raced towards what should have been sandy hair.

Kaminari and Kirishima are crying the boy's name, shaking him, pressing their jackets and clothes to keep the wound closed. Shouts for _bandages, bandages, bandages_ fill the air, and Midoriya's miracle is soon lost from minds. Ochako is planted at the boy's side though, frozen, her heart a sickening mess as she gulped in a soundless shriek.

Sandy hair is blood red, as red as the boy's sharp eyes. His clothing is dyed the same color, along with the ground around him. The liquid is wine, pooling in an unrealistic amount.

And where a left leg and arm should have been, is an empty space flowing with nauseating red.

0000

It felt like ages until the rescue team of medics and heroes alike reach the scene. Rather, no one notices their arrival regardless. Whoever was still in their right mind were frantically getting a certain delinquent to wake, to no avail. Tears flowed down several faces, while many others huddled in corners, crying and shaking their heads to wipe reality into a nightmare.

Ochako does neither, and only helps with whatever order she is given, eyes glassy, and face pulled sheet white. The only thing she could think of was how a happy, smile-filled summer break hiking trip with friends in the class could go so horribly _wrong._

The medics arrive before the bleeding stops, apparently, as someone tells Ochako later after the incident. She was in no state to care of such details, and so believes the words completely. The rest is a blur to everyone, with both Bakugou and Midoriya transported by helicopter, and everyone else by ambulances or police cars.

Ochako's certain that there were heroes patting her back and telling her it was alright now, but she no longer remembers their faces nor what their voices sounded like. She doesn't go against them when they usher her to the cars, and she doesn't think the others did either. Not a single person had enough energy to do otherwise, traumatized, and tired from hellish scenes that only appeared in whatever midnight movies or dreams could possibly manifest. There may have been reporters, but she doesn't hear any student answering flashes and bombarded questions.

She finds herself dead tired when she's seated, but those are only her body's thoughts. Her mind is crystal clear, and her eyes do not close for more than half a second throughout the trip back to the hospital.

0000

"Uraraka-san, are you alright? Do you think you are ready to tell us what happened at the scene?"

Said girl looks up slowly to the owner of the voice. She sluggishly makes out the features of the man, Officer Tsukauchi, before nodding her head in response.

She does not notice the sigh and the tired face from the officer, who pats her to get up and follow. He leads her through the hospital halls, passing by several of her friends and classmates. Not one acknowledges her leaving, and neither does she acknowledge them sitting on the benches beside.

They are taken to a corner of the waiting halls, where no one sits, before the officers start to question her. They are calm and gentle, careful, as though walking on eggshells, as they coax what she knows out of her.

Ochako spends little time before telling them the incident, although quietly. As she speaks, images and videos of the villain grabbing at Jirou and Hagakure, as well as the furious yells of Bakugou and Midoriya play through like a film in her thoughts.

She does not believe the scenes, and feels not a touch of pain as she thinks of them, and her words are clear and fluent.

0000

Tsukauchi furrows his brows, biting his lip as he listens to the girl as she speaks. His head hurts from the ugly words and mental images of the children's battered bodies. He does not want to push this girl any further, despite the other officers' unending questions.

He feels sick from the sight of them lifeless in the halls.

0000

All of them are told to go home with their waiting parents after everything is settled. Everyone obliges, save for Kirishima, who cries and grips the doctors coats to let him stay and watch the injured. His eyes are watery and bloodshot, his face sullen from the lack of rest despite the many hours of questioning and waiting.

"Let me stay, doctor! Please! ….Just…. Let me stay! I need to see them, I need to know if they'll… they'll… make it!"

The doctors try to pry the boy off, telling him with pitiful eyes that there was not much he could do here, that he would only destroy himself with waiting in anxiety.

"It doesn't matter, doc! Please, this is the only way I could possibly…" The red-haired boy screams, until the quiver in his voice is no longer held back.

"Kirishima. Enough." Todoroki places a still hand on the boy's shoulder, eyes looking downwards at their sneakers, unable to face the other.

"Todoroki…"

"Let's go, Kirishima."

0000

 **A/N: My first multi-chapter fanfic. This is going to be angst all the way, so… yeah. Please bear with me, and thanks for reading it till the author's note.**


	2. The Dream Continues, In the Worst Way

After the incident, school starts up like usual. It seemed as though nothing had happened, that their run-in with the villain was long history. It felt ethereal, the whole event, and Ochako almost pukes when she thinks of it. She walks to the classroom like usual, careful to avoid seeing anyone before necessary. She isn't ready for a full on conversation.

Her gaze stays at her feet the whole time throughout the walk, until she reaches the school entrance. She does not feel deserving of this normality.

"Uraraka-san!"

Her head only ever lifts slightly, just enough to be able to see the speaker.

"Ah, Deku-kun." She gives him a small smile, the best she could manage, and slowly makes her way to the green-haired boy.

It does not evade her notice that the boy donned black eye bags and several bandages around his head. Nor does she miss the glassy look in his large, round eyes. He is in just as bad a state as her.

"How are your injuries, Deku-kun?" Her voice is only a notch higher than a whisper, and she curses herself when it comes out like death.

He scratches his head slowly, and the corners of his mouth lift only ever so slightly. "Better, I suppose. The doctors said that it would be a quick recovery. They said that the situation would only be critical if I didn't wake up."

She tries, she tries, to return his smile. She does not find enough energy to make it bright enough.

"That's good."

They continue on with small talk, but not a single line tells the truth.

Bakugou's name does not come once in their conversation.

0000

The classroom lays in complete silence, only quiet, shaky questions of Bakugou and Midoriya's wellbeing.

"Midoriya, you… didn't go and see Bakugou?" Kaminari asks, his eyes sullen.

There is teeth clenching, and no one looks in another's eyes.

"I tried, but his parents stopped me at the entrance to his hospital room. They said that it would be dangerous for me if I walked in. Only Kirishima-kun visited, because he persuaded them that his Quirk would keep him safe."

Kaminari only ducks his head lower. "I… I see."

There are no more words after that, though the students in the class huddle in uncomfortable silence around the green-haired boy's desk.

It stays as such all the way till an unexpected, energetic voice shouts greetings into the room.

"Mornin' guys!"

A loud clash sounds as the door swings open. Heads slowly turn, scorning the newcomer for the break of silence.

"Shut up, Weird Hair! Quit yelling first thing in the fucking morning!"

Gasps are heard as the familiar tone of voice rings through, and all of the gazes widen at the face of the boy.

Good arm over Kirishima's shoulders, prosthetic one propped up by a crutch, stands Bakugou Katsuki, red eyes ablaze and usual anger distorting his features.

"Quit starin', fuckers! Eraserhead's comin', fucking get to your seats already!"

Unable to answer, the crowd follows his words, dispersing to their seats. Though they do not take his eyes off of him, watching in silence as Kirishima slowly helps the boy from his shoulders to the seat. It takes a while for the boy to be seated, and no one misses the small twitch in Bakugou's brow at the jolt of pain as he sits.

The class watches the entire ordeal in motionless silence, dumbfounded and speechless by the stark contrast of the boy's movements. Where Bakugou would usually walk in and plop in his chair with a hefty growl, propping his legs up on the desk in front, he now sits terrifyingly slowly, muscles adjusting to support his weight as he lowers himself. His before lazy and carefree positions are no longer existent, with his "new" leg and arm, he sits in an upright manner, stiff, putting much effort into keeping the fake leg fully outstretched under the table. Where a growl or crazy grimace once was on his face, is now a deathly pale expression, filled with sweat and pain as he grits his teeth to keep from yelling.

There were no words spoken at all, but it was clear to any if they walked in at the moment; that high tension and heavy feeling hanging about the air like a plague.

Guilt. Thick and unbearable. Even though it didn't show, everyone was suffocating in the atmosphere, vocal cords unable to function with the lack of calm air.

It does not help even with Aizawa-sensei entering.

0000

The moment Aizawa enters he knows that Bakugou's returned. Nothing else could possibly cause this ugly sense, not with these students, not with this classroom. In all honesty, Aizawa himself does not want to see the boy.

He is a failure for thinking so, he knows, but his head hurts when he thinks of the boy's lost limbs and tattered form weeks ago. He feels that he would break, in front of the people he can never break down to, if he walks in and sees the white cloth on Midoriya's face, or hear the clang of metal limbs.

It takes much more than five minutes for him to gather enough to step through. He hates himself for it, for not being able to save them. It's not his fault, they weren't in school… yes, although true, the weight on his chest tells him not.

He pounds his fist wordlessly into his heart, and forces his throat to sound.

"Alright, class is starting."

He's surprised he's not stuttering. He only gives a glance to the two boys, and does not linger, despite the reality that slaps him in the face.

Aizawa clenches his teeth. He's not fit for this job after all.

0000

Ochako stops breathing when she hears Deku-kun's question. Bakugou is out talking to Aizawa and Recovery Girl, allowing for the burst of pent-up questions and feelings to break out in the classroom.

"Kirishima-kun… How is… how is Kacchan doing?" The words are harmless, but the surrounding students look sick, thinking of the possibilities.

Kirishima gives a small, sad smile. "The pain and uncomfort will fade, though it would take a long time for him to be able to walk without crutches or someone to help him for a long time. He's strong though, the doctors said, so it should be faster than usual."

There are sighs of relief, but the uneasiness stays.

"Will he make a complete recovery?" Todoroki is quiet when he asks.

"As to normal activities, like walking and stuff, yeah. He'll be okay soon enough."

Midoriya lets out a breath at the response.

"But why a prosthetic arm or leg? Can't they use, like, someone's regeneration Quirk, or something?" Mina-chan says, her hands rubbing together in obvious nervousness.

Kirishima shakes his head. "Nah. Doctors said that that wouldn't work out. It's not like the Nomus we fought; it's not that easy with a living, brain-normally-functioning human being. It won't work."

"I see."

Asui cocks her head, and asks a question no one dared to speak of. "Then, will Bakugou-chan still be able to be a hero?"

Kirishima's face darkens. The surrounding adolescents bite their lip, bracing for the truth.

"I don't know. It will take months for him to be able to move like he could before."

Kaminari brightens slightly, giving a shaky smile. "Then, he'll be able to be a hero? That's great! It'll be fine! Then he could still chase after his dreams, and everything will work out, and"

There is a clench of fists as Kirishima closes his eyes, holding in tears.

"No, he can't. The doctors… the doctors said that because of his prosthetic arm and leg, he might… he might… might never be able to use his Quirk again."

0000

 **A/N: Chapter 2, done! Gosh, this is depressing. I honestly don't even know if this is gonna get a good ending…**


	3. Unexpected Acts

The words are a plague to Ochako, and she's sure that it's the same for the others too. The class was terrifyingly long, and more often than not, she wanted to bolt in the middle of it. Few people dared to look at Bakugou again, as though hoping with all they could that whatever was said before would be lost and gone, a fact that would never be true.

They are let down, though, when Bakugou raises his hand for the washroom, and Kirishima hurries to help. Aizawa is quiet here, and Ochako swears that she sees a flash of pain through his eyes.

She bites her lip. To think that the very boy that everyone was afraid of, the one who always took the top spot in natural talent and physical combat, would need another's help to simply walk.

To think that the boy who once defeated her, never looked down on her, the student she admired and aspired to become as strong as, would be in a state as miserable as he was in now.

A world without the hero named Bakugou Katsuki. Impossible.

0000

It is ages before the lunch bell rings, and when it does, there are several relaxed shoulders and sighs of relief. Any more lessons in the classroom and someone would have combusted. Ochako's sure of it.

Regardless, no one dares to leave before Bakugou is helped out of his chair, and he and Kirishima exit towards the cafeteria, the redhead laughing at a joke he cracked himself, the other swearing profoundly at the notion.

"Err… let's go get lunch, Uraraka-san." Deku-kun gives her a small smile, and they follow the others, who also walk off to lunch.

"Yeah. Sure."

0000

Ochako hates herself more when heroics class comes around.

All Might is brimming with energy, laughing and loud in the stale room. She could tell from afar that it is only a mask, for the man, even as the number one hero, had bags under his eyes. He is successful, though, for most of the tension is lost, and is instead substituted for laughter and grins.

Bakugou does not say a word during the beginning of class, and perhaps that helps.

"Alright, class, let's split into partners, and start our villain vs. hero training. Take your slots out of the boxes!"

The class gets up, students eagerly making small talk as they pull the lots. It felt like a normal day, finally. Ochako finds herself smiling too, eyes wide and shoulders shaking with giggles as she converses with Mina-chan and Tsu-chan.

It is after everyone pulls lots does reality hit them again. For there is one person who has not moved.

Kaminari swings his gaze over to Kirishima, whose face darkens. There are small sounds of teeth clenching, and Deku-kun's eyes glaze over.

All Might is gentle with his words, careful not to touch any hard spots. "Young Bakugou, are you able to join today?"

The said boy only shakes his head. If Ochako were to be completely honest, she would have rather heard the usual swearing and explosive expression, but Bakugou is calm, unnaturally light-toned, as he replies.

"Don't think I can, if I wanted to."

He taps his crutch lightly to his leg, and moves his metal fingers.

"Alright. If you wish, though, you are welcome to watch with us, Young Bakugou. Do not force yourself."

"Mhmmm."

0000

The rest of the lessons are eventless and straightforward. Bakugou sits out for more than one of them, watching with dazed eyes, seated on a bench beside the field. No one has enough courage to talk to him during those periods, not even Kaminari nor Kirishima.

Even the teachers are dreadfully quiet during those classes.

0000

The bell rings through the room, drilling its sound through the voices of conversing students. Ochako only half notices the signal for the day's end, and doesn't move from talking with her friends. It is only when Tsu-chan does something unexpected does she change her position.

Tsu-chan is quick, and she dives to pull Bakugou, struggling to get out of his chair, up. The room is silent again, only Kirishima's surprised words and small sprint to help her sound. Bakugou's eyes are wide at the girl's notions, but does not say a word.

His mouth opens, brows slowly furrowing, and almost looks as if he wants to shout at her. Tsu-chan is ignorant of the expression on his face, continuing to carefully lift his leg. There is a huff and a "tsk" as Bakugou turns his head in slight annoyance, but he does not go forth with his plan to scream at her. Instead, he accepts both her and Kirishima's help in silence, allowing them to prop him up.

The two swing his arms over their shoulders at the last pull, and Bakugou says words that makes everyone's heart stop.

"Thanks, Weird Hair, Asui."

Kirishima and Asui are shocked for a moment, but they give him a small smile, and chuckle.

"Yeah, no problem."

"Don't worry about it, Bakugou-chan."

The two exit with the boy, giving him comforting words, and making small talk with him.

When they leave, Ochako only feels guiltier. Yao-momo's words simply add to that feeling.

"Tsu-chan… really is kind."

0000

The next morning, Bakugou enters with Kirishima and Tsu-chan with him, helping him, and the three talk like normal friends. If not for yesterday's events, the sight would have looked odd; Asui was never one to befriend Bakugou. The class is silent when they walk in, though Tsu-chan and Kirishima greet the rest of the class with bright voices.

They help him sit, as though it was normal, and their conversation does not stop once.

Ochako cannot help but make a glance at Kaminari and Deku, whom both were considered the closest to Bakugou. She regrets doing so, though, with both of their faces clad with utter guilt. She shifts her gaze to the floor, unable to say a word.

It is then does Deku move. He walks, his back straight, eyes near tears, up to his childhood rival.

"Kacchan."

The boy, before arguing with Tsu-chan, turns to meet eyes with the new speaker.

"Huh? What do you want, Deku?"

Deku-kun only bites his lip, staring down at Bakugou. His fists clench, and for a second Ochako almost fears they'll start arguing again. That is, until Deku bows.

He bows, his head lowered, eyes facing the ground. With a strong, yet shaky voice, he says,

"Kacchan… I'm… I'm sorry!"

0000

 **A/N: From here on, the chapter content will be less redundant, I think. Thanks for reading till chapter 3!**


	4. When I Run into a Dead End

The motion, the words, they were so out of place, so completely unexpected that even Bakugou is speechless. The green-haired boy stands at the same brutally humiliating position, not moving an inch, waiting for a reply.

Bakugou opens and closes his mouth, trying hard to make a snarky comment, to shout back, to say _something_. He cannot find the sounds to do so. His vocal cords are a twisted mess, and his words come in muted levels.

Ochako does not blame him. The rest of the class is the same, her included. Her chest is burning, yet cold and heavy, as she watches her friend do the oddity.

It takes long before Bakugou can move again, and he is the first to be able to. He turns his head away from Midoriya, away from the rest of the onlookers. Only a small part of her questions it. It is the small, quiet mumbles that he lets out that catches her attention.

With a voice no louder than a whisper, he says, "Shut up. I… I don't need your sorry."

Even in a bent over state, Ochako can still see the gritting of teeth from the freckled face as the words sang through.

"Kacchan… It was my fault you're in this state… please, just accept it. I know it's humiliating, I know that you hate me this much but… please, Kacchan. Please, just let me be rid of this tension. Please, Kacchan. I'm… I'm…."

Bakugou starts to tremble, his face still turned away, as the words slowly come out.

"...I'm sorry."

Sandy hair is shaking violently, and Ochako clenches her teeth and awaits the coming burst of cussing.

It does not come.

"Fuck you… _fuck_ , Deku… what the hell would _you_ know about what's happening in _my_ fucking life…"

Midoriya raises his head, eyes meeting the seated boy, mustering his voice to reply.

"Kacchan, of course I'd know! Because you saved me, your leg… your arm… you've lost them. You've lost them! And you… you might never even use your Quirk again! Because of me! Because of me! You… might never… never use your Quirk again, because you were stupid, stupid, stupid enough to save me! Me! So… just let me say it, Kacchan! Stop being so tough; we both know… we both know!"

The moment he's finished, Bakugou whips his face back around. The whole room, including Deku-kun and Aizawa-sensei who just walked in, are dumbfounded.

"Shut up! Fucking Deku! Shut up! Just… shut up!"

The words are a mess, and Ochako has to strain to process what the boy is saying. The speech he makes is covered and coated with tears, emotions he can't pull out still stuck in his throat, yet flowing out of the swears he screams. The very Bakugou Katsuki, strongest, proudest of them all, is bawling buckets from his eyes, in front of twenty or so others. His eyes, those crimson orbs, are angry, but dull, the shine and energy lost from them.

He is just as broken… no, more broken than they ever could be.

The students all stare at their shoes, and even with Aizawa ushering them to their seats, not a single soul raises their gaze. Because they know they've lost that privilege. If they look up, they will be challenging those words, those emotions. They would be neglecting the very feelings of the man that was the central victim to all of this chaos.

And no matter how much they despised him beforehand, no matter how much they feared him, envied him, they couldn't do that.

0000

Bakugou is told to go to the infirmary after the incident, and, perhaps from Recovery Girl's advice, he does not show up in any of the classes that day.

And Midoriya is completely devastated.

Through all of the classes, even during his favorite heroics, his eyes are glazed over. There are only pats of shaky reassurance from the others that can comfort him. Ochako is one of those people, but she too does not find the will in her to speak.

Only Todoroki and Iida-kun are able to speak to him, and the class can only watch as their conversations play out.

"Midoriya. Stop this. You're making the whole class a guilt hole."

There is only a half-hearted gaze from the said boy.

"Todoroki-kun is right, Midoriya-kun. You have to support yourself. It was not your fault that Bakugou-kun bursted. It may even be better for him."

Midoriya shakes his head.

"No… Kacchan… that reaction… those eyes... he's giving up. He's giving up, Iida-kun! I just know it… he's probably… probably going to quit becoming a hero!"

The two boys widen their eyes, but don't say anything in retort. Because everyone could feel it. The way the crimson eyes dulled over, the tears that flowed not from anger, but by heart… they knew.

But even so, Ochako could not accept it. She knows that Deku-kun, no all of the class, won't let that happen.

0000

Recovery Girl does not know what to do when Bakugou Katsuki walks in. He is supported by a friend, who only gives a smile and leaves shortly after. It is the first time that Recovery Girl is at a loss for words. She'd spoken to the boy before; she was to be informed of his state, but she did not say anything but a pleasant nod of understanding.

So when he walks in, head facing the ground, tear tracks marking his face, she is absolutely lost. The most she could do was give him the silence he deserved, though she knows that he will break if she does not speak.

He lies on the bed, quiet, eyes cloudy with so many emotions that it horrifies her. Of all her years as a medic, she knows that look well. The look of exhaustion. The look of losing hope. The look of _death_. Once she sees that look, she forces her voice to work. Because if she doesn't, she knows this boy will be lost.

"Bakugou-kun. Do not give up."

The receiving end of the words is silent. He does not move to respond to her.

"Bakugou Katsuki. Listen to me. The world is not over."

He stirs slightly at that. He covers his eyes with his good arm, and whispers what Recovery Girl has heard too many times over.

"It is."

Her frown deepens. He is more gone than she would have expected.

"No, it isn't. The world does not revolve around you alone. You may not ever use your Quirk again, but there are still roads to walk. Do not give up."

The boy starts to raise his voice here, and Recovery Girl can clearly hear the despair clogged in his throat.

"I know that! I know that… I know that even if my fucking Quirk is gone the world isn't over. I know that!" He's near hysterics, now, limbs shaking to keep the pain within. "But who cares about those shitty paths? I don't… I can't… I can't even walk down them with my own fucking legs! I can't even fucking walk without fucking help! How the shitting hell am I supposed to keep going!?"

Recovery Girl is once again at a loss. This boy…

"Being a hero… I was going to be the number one hero! Fuck that shitty line I kept saying! How the hell could I possibly be a hero now, in my fucking state… and that shitty Deku too… saying sorry!? Why the fucking crap are you saying fucking sorry? You dumbshit…"

Bakugou is crying again now, his good arm pounding at his prosthetic leg, as though condemning it. He's sworn more times than she could count, in that little speech, but she does not tell him to stop. She knows that letting him run his anger is the only way she'll understand the boy's feelings.

So she sits silently to hear him, because he is nowhere near done.

"Every other fucker there too! Looking at me like I'm some weak piece of crap! I'm not fucking Deku, I'm not that fucking frail!"

The nurse does not agree to his lines. He may be proud, but he is fragile. The pride is nothing but a defense built up to keep that fragility guarded.

"My shitty parents, too! Keep looking at me with those fucking expressions in their eyes… what am I, some twerp that would break if they touched me!? Fuck it!"

Almost there, she thinks. He's almost at his answer.

"Fuck! Do they really think that I'm some useless crap!? I ain't, you all pieces of shit!"

Now. Now is where she butts in.

"Then why do you say you've lost all choice?" Her voice is firm, almost lecturing. If she goes easy and smiles here, he would lose his way again. Her experience tells her so; she cannot be kind now.

"Even if you can't be a hero, your life isn't over yet. You don't have the right to end it. Because your life isn't just yours to throw away."

Her patient is back to his original form, eyes covered by an arm, though the tears continue to fall.

"What are you saying, shitty old granny…"

She gets up out of her chair, and pull him to an upright state. He doesn't resist. Good. Then her job is almost over.

"Listen, boy. There are several people, heroes, out there that have lost a part of them. You end yourself, then you are mocking them. Telling them that their lives should have ended. Your suicide will be their condemnation."

She gives him a hard look. His gaze does not waver from hers, though his eyes do not look at her. Only a little more, just one more push.

"Bakugou Katsuki. The moment you condemn them, you will be doing the things akin to what were done by the League of Villains. The same thing. You, becoming a villain, like those that fought against you the past year. The ones you screamed were true pieces of crap."

The boy clenches his teeth and looks away, obviously angry, but not brave enough to voice his thoughts.

"Do you wish to be a villain that badly, Bakugou? Really? I thought you boasted about yourself as a hero all the time. Where has that gone, down the drain? You disappoint me."

"No. No. No! I get it! I'm not going to fucking give up! I'm not going to fucking suicide! So shut up!"

He glares at her now, but this time, his eyes are bright. There is anger in them, a strong, powerful ambition that rises in the ruby. There is life.

"Good. Now hold onto that feeling, and hold it tight. Because there won't be time to do this again."

0000

Ochako's jaw drops when Bakugou walks back into the class, only minutes after the last bell rings. The class is huddled around Midoriya, planning, thinking, of the words to say the moment the explosive delinquent returned. They were so prepared, so ready, fired up by the adrenaline of saving the boy that once saved them, but they are speechless when he walks in.

Because they don't see anyone in the need of saving.

His posture is perfectly straight, head held high. He walks alone, though with the help of his crutches. His crimson eyes were no longer dull. Instead, they burned with a fire brighter and stronger than ever.

He glared at them, the worry on their faces annoying him.

"Good to see every one of you fuckers here. I got something to say."

0000

 **A/N: This story is, I finally feel, getting somewhere. I hope. Oh well. I'm trying. Thanks for reading, though.**


	5. I Know Your Feelings, Yet I Don't

_**Not a continuation of chapter 4. Just a small break in this story.**_

0000

Mitsuki does not know whether to cry or scream when the doctors tell her of Katsuki's state. Masaru beside her is stock still, eyes widened in utter disbelief, and frankly, she's sure she could say the same about her own face.

Neither of the two of them believe any of it that the doctors say, not until they are allowed to see him after the surgery.

Multiple tubes attached, head bandaged, and several small scars, lies her boy. Arrogant and mean, yes, but her beloved son nonetheless. She cries out loud the moment she sees steel against his left shoulder. Masaru is still silent, though the same horrifying feeling she's sure envelopes them both.

She doesn't feel anything but despair.

0000

Kirishima almost gets burned by the sudden explosion that bursts out the moment he swings the door of the room labeled "Bakugou" open. It takes more than his own Quirk to keep his clothes from burning off, and himself from flying backwards, so he instinctively closes the door partially.

Midoriya who stands behind him is stock still from the reaction. Kirishima only needs a fraction of a second to know what happened.

He pulls in a deep breath before walking in. Midoriya follows. The both of them are visibly shaking, both running miles in their heads for a few good words to say.

His head hurts from the thoughts.

0000

When Midoriya first wakes up, he sees his mother next to him, bawling buckets next to the bed. He gives her a small smile, indicating that he was okay, until being crushed in her hold. He is greeted by relieved smiles, Iida-kun, Todoroki-kun, and Uraraka-san only a few in the large crowd. He is in a good mood until they tell him of the other's situation.

And Midoriya's world falls.

0000

The day Bakugou arrives back in school, All Might is unsure of how he should act. He touches his own scar the moment he sees the boy walking in crutches with Young Kirishima. He knows what the boy will soon feel, soon think. And he fears it. Because he too felt that sense of loss, of unending grief and sorrow, so much that the knife was only inches from the stomach.

He knows that feeling, and so he smiles all the harder in heroics. If he lets Bakugou feel pity, feel dread, it will be over.

He takes his class seriously like normal, careful to keep an eye on the boy that sits in the back, watching with glazed eyes. He does not lose his smile, and thinks throughout the rest of the day, and many days to come, on what to say, what to do.

Because even as a rookie teacher, he knows that he must save this boy. That's what teachers are for.

0000

She knows it's odd of her the moment she chooses to help Bakugou. She knows the class is staring. She doesn't stop. Because even in all of the oddity of it, she cannot help but notice the way Bakugou softens when he chooses to trust her.

Asui has always wanted to be a rescue hero, and she knows perfectly well that if she could not overcome her guilt and fear with her classmate, there was no way she could become the woman she strives to be. Which is why, even though she disliked him beforehand, she helps him to and from school those two days.

To her, a simple thing like this was supposed to be one of the basics of being a hero. Asui does not want to blame her other classmates and friends, but she cannot help but penalize them for being stuck in their guilt. She is even angry at their stillness and silence.

She is angry, but not ashamed of herself nor her actions. Because the "thank you" that Bakugou-chan gives her is the most true, most beautiful, most kind that she's ever heard in her whole life.

0000

Kaminari thinks he must be cold-blooded when his legs don't move when Midoriya says sorry. His legs are lead, and he feels completely ugly when Bakugou screams back. How dare himself, saying that he was pals with Bakugou, when never, not once, did he connect nor try to feel what Bakugou was feeling?

Rather, how could he be a friend when he didn't even know of Bakugou's thoughts? For thinking that he could possibly be okay? What type of friend was he?

He had been too absorbed in his own self-guilt and fear to even bother thinking of all of that. He doesn't deserve the right to call him a friend.

He deserves even less to call himself a soon-to-be hero.

0000

 **A/N: Just a few small snippets of what the people around in the incident were thinking at the time. I wanted to put these in before, but I felt that they didn't quite fit with the flow of the story. So I made them into an extra chapter. Hope you enjoyed it!**


	6. There is Still a Path We Can Walk

He says the words slowly. There is no anger, resentment, nor arrogance in them. He stands with a perfected posture, his frame calm yet firm. Not a touch of the usual explosiveness shows through in his speech, however, there is a fire stronger than ever before in the crimson orbs.

It is this alone that forces the rest of the students to be completely silent, taking in every one of the words without replying. All of them are surprised by this sudden conviction from someone who had just seemed to be on the verge of falling. It was unexpected, that he had returned overflowing with passion. So they listen. Eyes earnestly facing him, meeting that burning red, ready to receive whatever it is that he wishes to tell them.

"You fuckers, don't think that I haven't seen those shitty looks that you keep using towards me. Pitying me? Worrying about me? Piece of crap, shitheads. Think about your own fucking problems before you start making pity faces. With your crappy efforts, I'd leave you biting the dust, little shits."

The words are biting, proud and with so much menace it hurt, but the surrounding students knew what they were trying to convey. For anyone who did not know Bakugou, the speech would have infuriated them.

However, the nineteen students who were listening had known and fought with him for a year and a half. They could clearly hear the message that sang through the profanities.

"Give me your damn stupid apologies and you'll die, fuckers. I don't need that crap," is what he said, but what they heard was "don't say sorry, because I can still become a hero."

He growls out "I'm a genius, you idiots, and my Quirk ain't as shitty as yours to go and fucking kill me," yet his listeners only smile and take in the underlying words of "I can still fight, still walk, still continue on, despite my lost limbs."

"I'm still gonna be the number one hero, shitheads. You wouldn't be even able to fucking keep up, 'cause you're still sulking and kissing your toes from your fucking weak guilt."

His final words made all of their jaws agape, despite before smiling in relief. What he had just said to them… that was true gold. Not in a sarcastic way, but a real statement. He had told them, in his roundabout way, that it wasn't their fault. That they had no need from the beginning to feel guilty nor say sorry to him. That he had not, not once, ever blamed them for any of his misfortune.

And not only that, but he had confessed that he saw them as his equals. That if they continued on feeling guilty, he would leave them behind. Leave _them_ behind. Not that he would continue to leave them behind, but that if they don't start raising their heads, he _would_ leave them behind.

He had never thought of them as ahead of him, nor behind him, but together with him, on the same playing field, at the same starting line.

That speech alone was enough to cause the tightness and stiffness in the students' shoulders to completely disappear.

Only a confession and scolding of no longer than half a minute was enough to free them from the guilt and distraught that had slowly been eating at their heels.

With a huff, the explosive teen turned around and walked out of the classroom.

Leaving nineteen students unable to move nor react.

0000

Shouto is pretty sure he's the first one to return to normal. To be entirely honest, he had not been as surprised as he should have been at Bakugou's confession. Perhaps, deep inside, he had already known that the boy had long since seen them as equals. However, the part in which Bakugou had never held them guilty left him hanging.

He had always thought that they were the reason to his outbursts of anger back in the hospital that Kirishima had told them about. He was unable to respond to the teen crying precisely because of this belief.

Shouto had, without a doubt, wallowed himself in guilt for his classmate's current state. How could he have not? He was considered by the entire class to be the best, the most likely to be hero student.

Yet he was not the one who had thrown himself to face the danger that appeared in front of them. He was not the one who risked himself to save the captured students.

He knew, in that moment against the villain, that he had thought of his own self-safety first. Sure, he had been brave enough to fight several enemies, but he could not move when faced with a power that was unmeasurable. He had despaired, in that split second; had given up on both his life and the lives of his friends'.

As such, when the incident had left two of his friends (yes, even Bakugou was a friend) heavily injured, one crippled for the rest of his life, he had been in remorse.

He hated himself, and guilt was the only thing that surfaced when he saw Bakugou.

So when Bakugou told them he did not blame them at all, he truly had felt freed. He knew he shouldn't, but it came anyway.

He was not hated by the man he had proclaimed one of his rivals.

Which was why he was the first to recover. It surprised him, though, that the people around him were going through similar feelings.

He could see how Jirou made a relieved smile, and the buckets of tears that flowed down the faces of Kirishima, Kaminari, and Midoriya. Even Hagakure, despite her invisibility, had visible droplets running down where her face should be. Everyone else were close to tears, their pent up guilt and agony released and faded with the words Bakugou had left them.

It takes a while for Shouto himself to realize that his head felt lighter, and that his own cheeks were wet.

0000

Standing outside of the classroom, watching from the window after Bakugou had left, was Aizawa. He had planned to console his students, both the guilt-ridden and the victim to this mess.

However, when he arrived only to see Bakugou's retreating form, straight and proud, does he realize that he never needed to worry. And when he turned to the classroom and saw the children crying in relief and liberation, he could not help but smile himself.

He blinked rapidly, trying to keep the waterworks from falling, and turned away from the classroom, following the path that Bakugou had taken.

There was no need for him to walk in. He had to give them time, if only to cry whatever was chained within.

0000

The students from Class B of the hero course stiffened when they heard the clang of metallic limbs in the hallway.

Expecting a stream of curses and outbursts of violence from the teen, they turned away. They turned away in pity as well, hoping to give the boy reassurance that his new "weakness" would not be seen by them. Despite his arrogance, they had come to realize, just like Class A, that he was someone worth admiring and trusting.

But they were not met with any of the profanities nor explosiveness that symbolized Bakugou Katsuki.

Instead, they were met with a smile so unlike him that they stood frozen for several minutes.

On his face, usually distorted with anger or terrifying grins, was a true smile. His eyes were calm, like they had just finished crying, and were free of any heavy emotions. His posture was light, having been relieved from so many different burdens.

He was the epitome of a man reaching salvation, reaching hope, as he walked down the hallway.

0000

 **A/N: Finally updated! How long has it been…? Well, regardless, I hope this new chapter was good! Thanks for reading it! I do hope to update the next chapter soon too!**


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